 |
Environment—international agreements: party to: Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution signed, but not ratified: Biodiversity, Law of the Sea
People
Population: 10,588 (July 1999 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 35% (male 1,870; female 1,799) 15-64 years: 61% (male 3,062; female 3,360) 65 years and over: 4% (male 225; female 272) (1999 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.34% (1999 est.)
Birth rate: 21.91 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Death rate: 8.5 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (1999 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 25.53 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 64.15 years male: 63.01 years female: 65.34 years (1999 est.)
Total fertility rate: 3.11 children born/woman (1999 est.)
Nationality: noun: Tuvaluan(s) adjective: Tuvaluan
Ethnic groups: Polynesian 96%
Religions: Church of Tuvalu (Congregationalist) 97%, Seventh-Day Adventist 1.4%, Baha'i 1%, other 0.6%
Languages: Tuvaluan, English
Literacy: NA; note—education is free and compulsory from ages 6 through 13
Government
Country name: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Tuvalu former: Ellice Islands
Data code: TV
Government type: constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary democracy; began debating republic status in 1992
Capital: Funafuti
Administrative divisions: none
Independence: 1 October 1978 (from UK)
National holiday: Independence Day, 1 October (1978)
Constitution: 1 October 1978
Legal system: NA
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir Tomasi PUAPUA, M.D. (since NA June 1998) head of government: Prime Minister Bikenibeu PAENIU (since 23 December 1996) and Deputy Prime Minister Kokeiya MALUA (since 8 April 1998); cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the prime minister; prime minister and deputy prime minister elected by and from the members of Parliament; election last held 8 April 1998 (next to be held NA 2002) election results: Bikenibeu PAENIU reelected prime minister by a vote in Parliament of 10 to 2; Kokeiya MALUA elected deputy prime minister; percent of Parliament vote—NA
Legislative branch: unicameral Parliament or Fale I Fono, also called House of Assembly (12 seats—two from each island with more than 1,000 inhabitants, one from all the other inhabited islands; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 26-27 March 1998 (next to be held by NA 2002) election results: percent of vote—NA; seats—independents 12
Judicial branch: eight Island Courts; High Court; note—a chief justice visits twice a year to preside over sessions of the High Court
Political parties and leaders: there are no political parties but members of Parliament usually align themselves in informal groupings
International organization participation: ACP, AsDB, C (special), ESCAP, IFRCS (associate), Intelsat (nonsignatory user), ITU, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WTrO (applicant)
Diplomatic representation in the US: Tuvalu does not have an embassy in the US
Diplomatic representation from the US: the US does not have an embassy in Tuvalu; the US ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Tuvalu
Flag description: light blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant; the outer half of the flag represents a map of the country with nine yellow five-pointed stars symbolizing the nine islands
Economy
Economy—overview: Tuvalu consists of a densely populated, scattered group of nine coral atolls with poor soil. The country has no known mineral resources and few exports. Subsistence farming and fishing are the primary economic activities. Government revenues largely come from the sale of stamps and coins and worker remittances. About 1,000 Tuvaluans work in Nauru in the phosphate mining industry. Nauru has begun repatriating Tuvaluans, however, as phosphate resources decline. Substantial income is received annually from an international trust fund established in 1987 by Australia, NZ, and the UK and supported also by Japan and South Korea. In an effort to reduce its dependence on foreign aid, the government is pursuing public sector reforms, including privatization of some government functions and personnel cuts of up to 7%. In 1998, Tuvalu began selling internet addresses in its TV domain and reportedly has derived revenue from use of its area code for "900" lines. Low-lying Tuvalu is particularly vulnerable to any future global warming.
GDP: purchasing power parity—$7.8 million (1995 est.)
GDP—real growth rate: 8.7% (1995)
GDP—per capita: purchasing power parity?$800 (1995 est.)
GDP—composition by sector: agriculture: NA% industry: NA% services: NA%
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.9% (average 1985-93)
Labor force: NA
Labor force—by occupation: people make a living mainly through exploitation of the sea, reefs, and atolls and from wages sent home by those working abroad (mostly workers in the phosphate industry and sailors)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues: $4.3 million expenditures: $4.3 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1989 est.)
Industries: fishing, tourism, copra
Industrial production growth rate: NA%
Electricity—production: 3 million kWh (1995)
Electricity—production by source: fossil fuel: NA% hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA%
Electricity—consumption: 3 million kWh (1995)
Electricity—exports: 0 kWh (1995)
Electricity—imports: 0 kWh (1995)
Agriculture—products: coconuts; fish
Exports: $165,000 (f.o.b., 1989)
Exports—commodities: copra
Exports—partners: Fiji, Australia, NZ
Imports: $4.4 million (c.i.f., 1989)
Imports—commodities: food, animals, mineral fuels, machinery, manufactured goods
Imports—partners: Fiji, Australia, NZ
Debt—external: $NA
Economic aid—recipient: $7.9 million (1995); note?substantial annual support from an international trust fund
Currency: 1 Tuvaluan dollar ($T) or 1 Australian dollar ($A) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: Tuvaluan dollars ($T) or Australian dollars ($A) per US$1—1.5853 (January 1999), 1.5888 (1998), 1.3439 (1997), 1.2773 (1996), 1.3486 (1995), 1.3667 (1994)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications
Telephones: 130 (1983 est.)
Telephone system: domestic: radiotelephone communications between islands international: NA
Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0
Radios: 4,000 (1993 est.)
Television broadcast stations: 0 (1997)
Televisions: NA
Transportation
Railways: 0 km
Highways: total: 8 km (1996 est.) paved: NA km unpaved: NA km
Ports and harbors: Funafuti, Nukufetau
Merchant marine: total: 10 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 44,371 GRT/70,137 DWT ships by type: cargo 6, chemical tanker 2, oil tanker 1, passenger-cargo 1 (1998 est.)
Airports: 1 (1998 est.)
Airports—with unpaved runways: total: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (1998 est.)
Military
Military branches: no regular military forces; Police Force (consists of 56 full- and part-time personnel), Police Force (includes Maritime Surveillance Unit for search and rescue missions and surveillance operations)
Military expenditures—dollar figure: $NA
Military expenditures—percent of GDP: NA%
Transnational Issues
Disputes—international: none
======================================================================
@Uganda ———
Geography
Location: Eastern Africa, west of Kenya
Geographic coordinates: 1 00 N, 32 00 E
Map references: Africa
Area: total: 236,040 sq km land: 199,710 sq km water: 36,330 sq km
Area—comparative: slightly smaller than Oregon
Land boundaries: total: 2,698 km border countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo 765 km, Kenya 933 km, Rwanda 169 km, Sudan 435 km, Tanzania 396 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none (landlocked)
Climate: tropical; generally rainy with two dry seasons (December to February, June to August); semiarid in northeast
Terrain: mostly plateau with rim of mountains
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Lake Albert 621 m highest point: Margherita Peak on Mount Stanley 5,110 m
Natural resources: copper, cobalt, limestone, salt
Land use: arable land: 25% permanent crops: 9% permanent pastures: 9% forests and woodland: 28% other: 29% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 90 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: NA
Environment—current issues: draining of wetlands for agricultural use; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; poaching is widespread
Environment—international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification
Geography—note: landlocked
People
Population: 22,804,973 (July 1999 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 51% (male 5,857,254; female 5,820,526) 15-64 years: 47% (male 5,301,208; female 5,330,005) 65 years and over: 2% (male 239,434; female 256,546) (1999 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.83% (1999 est.)
Birth rate: 48.54 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Death rate: 18.43 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Net migration rate: -1.84 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.) note: according to the UNHCR, by the end of 1997, Uganda was host to refugees from a number of neighboring countries, including: Sudan 160,000, Democratic Republic of the Congo 14,000, and Rwanda 12,000
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.93 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (1999 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 90.68 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 43.06 years male: 42.2 years female: 43.94 years (1999 est.)
Total fertility rate: 7.03 children born/woman (1999 est.)
Nationality: noun: Ugandan(s) adjective: Ugandan
Ethnic groups: Baganda 17%, Karamojong 12%, Basogo 8%, Iteso 8%, Langi 6%, Rwanda 6%, Bagisu 5%, Acholi 4%, Lugbara 4%, Bunyoro 3%, Batobo 3%, non-African (European, Asian, Arab) 1%, other 23%
Religions: Roman Catholic 33%, Protestant 33%, Muslim 16%, indigenous beliefs 18%
Languages: English (official national language, taught in grade schools, used in courts of law and by most newspapers and some radio broadcasts), Ganda or Luganda (most widely used of the Niger-Congo languages, preferred for native language publications and may be taught in school), other Niger-Congo languages, Nilo-Saharan languages, Swahili, Arabic
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 61.8% male: 73.7% female: 50.2% (1995 est.)
Government
Country name: conventional long form: Republic of Uganda conventional short form: Uganda
Data code: UG
Government type: republic
Capital: Kampala
Administrative divisions: 39 districts; Apac, Arua, Bundibugyo, Bushenyi, Gulu, Hoima, Iganga, Jinja, Kabale, Kabarole, Kalangala, Kampala, Kamuli, Kapchorwa, Kasese, Kibale, Kiboga, Kisoro, Kitgum, Kotido, Kumi, Lira, Luwero, Masaka, Masindi, Mbale, Mbarara, Moroto, Moyo, Mpigi, Mubende, Mukono, Nebbi, Ntungamo, Pallisa, Rakai, Rukungiri, Soroti, Tororo
Independence: 9 October 1962 (from UK)
National holiday: Independence Day, 9 October (1962)
Constitution: 8 October 1995; adopted by the interim, 284-member Constituent Assembly, charged with debating the draft constitution that had been proposed in May 1993; the Constituent Assembly was dissolved upon the promulgation of the constitution in October 1995
Legal system: in 1995, the government restored the legal system to one based on English common law and customary law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Lt. Gen. Yoweri Kaguta MUSEVENI (since seizing power 29 January 1986); note—the president is both chief of state and head of government head of government: President Lt. Gen. Yoweri Kaguta MUSEVENI (since seizing power 29 January 1986); Prime Minister Kintu MUSOKE (since 18 November 1994); note—the president is both chief of state and head of government; the prime minister assists the president in the supervision of the cabinet cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president from among elected legislators elections: president elected by popular vote for a NA-year term; election last held 9 May 1996 (next to be held by 31 May 2001); note—first popular election for president since independence in 1962 was held in 1996; prime minister appointed by the president election results: Lt. Gen. Yoweri Kaguta MUSEVENI elected president; percent of vote—Lt. Gen. Yoweri Kaguta MUSEVENI 74%, Paul Kawanga SSEMOGERERE 24%, Muhammad MAYANJA 2%
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (276 members—214 directly elected by popular vote, 62 nominated by legally established special interest groups and approved by the president—women 39, army 10, disabled 5, youth 5, labor 3; members serve five-year terms) elections: last held 27 June 1996 (next to be held NA 2001); election results: NA; note—election campaigning by party was not permitted
Judicial branch: Court of Appeal, judges are appointed by the president; High Court, judges are appointed by the president
Political parties and leaders: only one political organization, chairman] is recognized; note—this is the party of President MUSEVENI; the president maintains that the NRM is not a political party, but a movement which claims the loyalty of all Ugandans note: of the political parties that exist but are prohibited from sponsoring candidates, the most important are the Ugandan People's MAYANJA-NKANGI]; the new constitution requires the suspension of political party activity until a referendum is held on the matter in 2000
International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, EADB, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Edith Grace SSEMPALA chancery: 5911 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20011
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Nancy J. POWELL embassy: Parliament Avenue, Kampala mailing address: P. O. Box 7007, Kampala
Flag description: six equal horizontal bands of black (top), yellow, red, black, yellow, and red; a white disk is superimposed at the center and depicts a red-crested crane (the national symbol) facing the hoist side
Economy
Economy—overview: Uganda has substantial natural resources, including fertile soils, regular rainfall, and sizable mineral deposits of copper and cobalt. Agriculture is the most important sector of the economy, employing over 80% of the work force. Coffee is the major export crop and accounts for the bulk of export revenues. Since 1986, the government—with the support of foreign countries and international agencies—has acted to rehabilitate and stabilize the economy by undertaking currency reform, raising producer prices on export crops, increasing prices of petroleum products, and improving civil service wages. The policy changes are especially aimed at dampening inflation and boosting production and export earnings. In 1990-98, the economy turned in a solid performance based on continued investment in the rehabilitation of infrastructure, improved incentives for production and exports, reduced inflation, gradually improved domestic security, and the return of exiled Indian-Ugandan entrepreneurs. Continuation of this performance, while possible, appears difficult because of Ugandan involvement in the war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, growing corruption within the government, and slippage in the government's determination to press reforms.
GDP: purchasing power parity—$22.7 billion (1998 est.)
GDP—real growth rate: 5.5% (1998 est.)
GDP—per capita: purchasing power parity?$1,020 (1998 est.)
GDP—composition by sector: agriculture: 44% industry: 17% services: 39% (1997 est.)
Population below poverty line: 55% (1993 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 3% highest 10%: 33.4% (1992)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.6% (1998)
Labor force: 8.361 million (1993 est.)
Labor force—by occupation: agriculture 86%, industry 4%, services 10% (1980 est.)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues: $869 million expenditures: $985 million, including capital expenditures of $69 million (FY95/96)
Industries: sugar, brewing, tobacco, cotton textiles, cement
Industrial production growth rate: 19.7% (FY95/96)
Electricity—production: 787 million kWh (1996)
Electricity—production by source: fossil fuel: 0.89% hydro: 99.11% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1996)
Electricity—consumption: 677 million kWh (1996)
Electricity—exports: 110 million kWh (1996)
Electricity—imports: 0 kWh (1996)
Agriculture—products: coffee, tea, cotton, tobacco, cassava (tapioca), potatoes, corn, millet, pulses; beef, goat meat, milk, poultry
Exports: $476 million (f.o.b., 1998)
Exports—commodities: coffee 54%, gold, fish and fish products, cotton, tea, corn (1997)
Exports—partners: Spain 14%, Germany 14%, Netherlands 10%, France 8%, Italy (1997)
Imports: $1.4 billion (c.i.f., 1998)
Imports—commodities: transportation equipment, petroleum, medical supplies, iron and steel (1996)
Imports—partners: Kenya 31%, UK 12%, Japan 6%, India 6%, South Africa 5% (1997)
Debt—external: $2.9 billion (1998 est.)
Economic aid—recipient: $827.3 million (1993)
Currency: 1 Ugandan shilling (USh) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: Ugandan shillings (USh) per US$1—1,368.4 (December 1998), 1,240.2 (1998), 1,083.0 (1997), 1,046.1 (1996), 968.9 (1995), 979.4 (1994)
Fiscal year: 1 July—30 June
Communications
Telephones: 61,600 (1990 est.)
Telephone system: fair system but in serious need of expansion and better maintenance; a cellular system has been introduced as a stopgap but the communications problems will not be solved without substantial investment in the conventional telephone infrastructure; e-mail and Internet services are available domestic: intercity traffic by wire, microwave radio relay, and radiotelephone communications stations, cellular system for short range traffic international: satellite earth station—1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 10, FM 0, shortwave 0
Radios: 2.13 million (1993 est.)
Television broadcast stations: 8 (in addition, there is one low-power repeater) (1997)
Televisions: 220,000 (1993 est.)
Transportation
Railways: total: 1,241 km narrow gauge: 1,241 km 1.000-m gauge note: a program to rehabilitate the railroad is underway (1995)
Highways: total: 27,000 km paved: 1,800 km unpaved: 25,200 km (of which about 4,800 km are all-weather roads) (1990 est.)
Waterways: Lake Victoria, Lake Albert, Lake Kyoga, Lake George, Lake Edward, Victoria Nile, Albert Nile
Ports and harbors: Entebbe, Jinja, Port Bell
Merchant marine: total: 3 roll-on/roll-off cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,091 GRT/8,229 DWT (1998 est.)
Airports: 27 (1998 est.)
Airports—with paved runways: total: 4 over 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (1998 est.)
Airports—with unpaved runways: total: 23 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 7 (1998 est.)
Military
Military branches: Army, Navy, Air Wing
Military manpower—availability: males age 15-49: 4,812,363 (1999 est.)
Military manpower—fit for military service: males age 15-49: 2,611,096 (1999 est.)
Military expenditures—dollar figure: $95 million (FY98/99)
Military expenditures—percent of GDP: 1.9% (FY98/99)
Transnational Issues
Disputes—international: Ugandan military forces are supporting the rebel forces in the civil war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
======================================================================
@Ukraine ———-
Geography
Location: Eastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Poland and Russia
Geographic coordinates: 49 00 N, 32 00 E
Map references: Commonwealth of Independent States
Area: total: 603,700 sq km land: 603,700 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area—comparative: slightly smaller than Texas
Land boundaries: total: 4,558 km border countries: Belarus 891 km, Hungary 103 km, Moldova 939 km, Poland 428 km, Romania (south) 169 km, Romania (west) 362 km, Russia 1,576 km, Slovakia 90 km
Coastline: 2,782 km
Maritime claims: continental shelf: 200-m or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: temperate continental; Mediterranean only on the southern Crimean coast; precipitation disproportionately distributed, highest in west and north, lesser in east and southeast; winters vary from cool along the Black Sea to cold farther inland; summers are warm across the greater part of the country, hot in the south
Terrain: most of Ukraine consists of fertile plains (steppes) and plateaus, mountains being found only in the west (the Carpathians), and in the Crimean Peninsula in the extreme south
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Black Sea 0 m highest point: Hora Hoverla 2,061 m
Natural resources: iron ore, coal, manganese, natural gas, oil, salt, sulfur, graphite, titanium, magnesium, kaolin, nickel, mercury, timber
Land use: arable land: 58% permanent crops: 2% permanent pastures: 13% forests and woodland: 18% other: 9% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 26,050 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: NA
Environment—current issues: inadequate supplies of potable water; air and water pollution; deforestation; radiation contamination in the northeast from 1986 accident at Chornobyl' Nuclear Power Plant
Environment—international agreements: party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Law of the Sea
Geography—note: strategic position at the crossroads between Europe and Asia; second-largest country in Europe
People
Population: 49,811,174 (July 1999 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 18% (male 4,690,318; female 4,498,239) 15-64 years: 68% (male 16,136,296; female 17,572,011) 65 years and over: 14% (male 2,251,664; female 4,662,646) (1999 est.)
Population growth rate: -0.62% (1999 est.)
Birth rate: 9.54 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Death rate: 16.38 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Net migration rate: 0.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.48 male(s)/female total population: 0.86 male(s)/female (1999 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 21.73 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 65.91 years male: 60.23 years female: 71.87 years (1999 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.34 children born/woman (1999 est.)
Nationality: noun: Ukrainian(s) adjective: Ukrainian
Ethnic groups: Ukrainian 73%, Russian 22%, Jewish 1%, other 4%
Religions: Ukrainian Orthodox—Moscow Patriarchate, Ukrainian Orthodox—Kiev Patriarchate, Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox, Ukrainian Catholic (Uniate), Protestant, Jewish
Languages: Ukrainian, Russian, Romanian, Polish, Hungarian
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98% male: 100% female: 97% (1989 est.)
Government
Country name: conventional long form: none conventional short form: Ukraine local long form: none local short form: Ukrayina former: Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic
Data code: UP
Government type: republic
Capital: Kiev (Kyyiv)
Administrative divisions: 24 oblasti (singular—oblast'), 1 autonomous republic* (avtomnaya respublika), and 2 municipalities (mista, singular—misto) with oblast status**; Cherkas'ka (Cherkasy), Chernihivs'ka (Chernihiv), Chernivets'ka (Chernivtsi), Dnipropetrovs'ka (Dnipropetrovs'k), Donets'ka (Donets'k), Ivano-Frankivs'ka (Ivano-Frankivs'k), Kharkivs'ka (Kharkiv), Khersons'ka (Kherson), Khmel'nyts'ka (Khmel'nyts'kyy), Kirovohrads'ka (Kirovohrad), Kyyiv**, Kyyivs'ka (Kiev), Luhans'ka (Luhans'k), L'vivs'ka (L'viv), Mykolayivs'ka (Mykolayiv), Odes'ka (Odesa), Poltavs'ka (Poltava), Avtonomna Respublika Krym* (Simferopol'), Rivnens'ka (Rivne), Sevastopol'**, Sums'ka (Sumy), Ternopil's'ka (Ternopil'), Vinnyts'ka (Vinnytsya), Volyns'ka (Luts'k), Zakarpats'ka (Uzhhorod), Zaporiz'ka (Zaporizhzhya), Zhytomyrs'ka (Zhytomyr) note: oblasts have the administrative center name following in parentheses
Independence: 1 December 1991 (from Soviet Union)
National holiday: Independence Day, 24 August (1991)
Constitution: adopted 28 June 1996
Legal system: based on civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Leonid D. KUCHMA (since 19 July 1994) head of government: Prime Minister Valeriy PUSTOVOYTENKO (since 16 July 1997), First Deputy Prime Minister Volodymyr KURATCHENKO (since 14 January 1999), and three deputy prime ministers cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president and approved by the Supreme Council note: there is also a National Security and Defense Council or NSDC originally created in 1992 as the National Security Council, but significantly revamped and strengthened under President KUCHMA; the NSDC staff is tasked with developing national security policy on domestic and international matters and advising the president; a Presidential Administration that helps draft presidential edicts and provides policy support to the president; and a Council of Regions that serves as an advisory body created by President KUCHMA in September 1994 that includes chairmen of the Kyyiv (Kiev) and Sevastopol' municipalities and chairmen of the Oblasti elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 26 June and 10 July 1994 (next to be held NA October 1999); prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president and approved by the People's Council election results: Leonid D. KUCHMA elected president; percent of vote—Leonid KUCHMA 52.15%, Leonid KRAVCHUK 45.06%
Legislative branch: unicameral Supreme Council or Verkhovna Rada (450 seats; under Ukraine's new election law, half of the Rada's seats are allocated on a proportional basis to those parties that gain 4% of the national electoral vote; the other 225 members are elected by popular vote in single-mandate constituencies; all serve four-year terms) elections: last held 29 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2002); note—repeat elections continuing to fill vacant seats election results: percent of vote by party (for parties clearing 4% hurdle on 29 March 1998)—Communist 24.7%, Rukh 9.4%, Socialist/Peasant 8.6%, Green 5.3%, People's Democratic Party 5.0%, Hromada 4.7%, Progressive Socialist 4.0%, United Social Democratic Party 4.0%; seats by party (as of 8 July 1998)—Communist 120, People's Democratic Party 88, Rukh 47, Hromada 45, Socialist/Peasant 33, United Social Democratic 25, Green 24, Progressive Socialist 14, independents 26, vacant 28
Judicial branch: Supreme Court; Constitutional Court
Political parties and leaders: Communist Party of Ukraine [Petro VITRENKO] note: and numerous smaller parties
Political pressure groups and leaders: New Ukraine (Nova Ukrayina); Congress of National Democratic Forces
International organization participation: BSEC, CCC, CE, CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, IHO (pending member), ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MONUA, NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIBH, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNPREDEP, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (applicant)
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Anton Denysovych BUTEYKO chancery: 3350 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20007 consulate(s) general: Chicago and New York
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Steven Karl PIFER embassy: 10 Yuria Kotsubynskoho, 254053 Kiev 53 mailing address: use embassy street address
Flag description: two equal horizontal bands of azure (top) and golden yellow represent grainfields under a blue sky
Economy
Economy—overview: After Russia, the Ukrainian republic was far and away the most important economic component of the former Soviet Union, producing about four times the output of the next-ranking republic. Its fertile black soil generated more than one-fourth of Soviet agricultural output, and its farms provided substantial quantities of meat, milk, grain, and vegetables to other republics. Likewise, its diversified heavy industry supplied equipment and raw materials to industrial and mining sites in other regions of the former USSR. Ukraine depends on imports of energy, especially natural gas. Shortly after the implosion of the USSR in December 1991, the Ukrainian Government liberalized most prices and erected a legal framework for privatization, but widespread resistance to reform within the government and the legislature soon stalled reform efforts and led to some backtracking. Output in 1992-98 fell to less than half the 1991 level. Loose monetary policies pushed inflation to hyperinflationary levels in late 1993. Since his election in July 1994, President KUCHMA has pushed economic reforms, maintained financial discipline, and tried to remove almost all remaining controls over prices and foreign trade. The onset of the financial crisis in Russia dashed Ukraine's hopes for its first year of economic growth in 1998 due to a sharp fall in export revenue and reduced domestic demand. Although administrative currency controls will be lifted in early 1999, they are likely to be reimposed when the hryvnia next comes under pressure. The currency is only likely to collapse further if Ukraine abandons tight monetary policies or threatens default. Despite increasing pressure from the IMF to accelerate reform, significant economic restructuring remains unlikely in 1999.
GDP: purchasing power parity—$108.5 billion (1998 est.)
GDP—real growth rate: -1.7% (1998 est.)
GDP—per capita: purchasing power parity?$2,200 (1998 est.)
GDP—composition by sector: agriculture: 14% industry: 30% services: 56% (1997 est.)
Population below poverty line: 50% (1997 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 4.1% highest 10%: 20.8% (1992)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 20% (yearend 1998 est.)
Labor force: 22.8 million (yearend 1997)
Labor force—by occupation: industry and construction 32%, agriculture and forestry 24%, health, education, and culture 17%, trade and distribution 8%, transport and communication 7%, other 12% (1996)
Unemployment rate: 3.7% officially registered; large number of unregistered or underemployed workers (December 1998)
Budget: revenues: $18 billion expenditures: $21 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.)
Industries: coal, electric power, ferrous and nonferrous metals, machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, food-processing (especially sugar)
Industrial production growth rate: -1.5% (1998 est.)
Electricity—production: 171.8 billion kWh (1998)
Electricity—production by source: fossil fuel: 47% hydro: 9.2% nuclear: 43.8% other: 0% (1998)
Electricity—consumption: 174 billion kWh (1998)
Electricity—exports: 5 billion kWh (1998)
Electricity—imports: 7 billion kWh (1998)
Agriculture—products: grain, sugar beets, sunflower seeds, vegetables; beef, milk
Exports: $11.3 billion (1998 est.)
Exports—commodities: ferrous and nonferrous metals, chemicals, machinery and transport equipment, food products
Exports—partners: Russia, China,, Turkey, Germany, Belarus (1998)
Imports: $13.1 billion (1998 est.)
Imports—commodities: energy, machinery and parts, transportation equipment, chemicals, plastics and rubber
Imports—partners: Russia, Germany, US, Poland, Italy (1998)
Debt—external: $10.9 billion (October 1998)
Economic aid—recipient: $637.7 million (1995); IMF Extended Funds Facility $2.2 billion (1998)
Currency: 1 hryvna=100 kopiykas
Exchange rates: hryvnia per US$1—3.4270 (February 1999), 2.4495 (1998), 1.8617 (1997), 1.8295 (1996), 1.4731 (1995), 0.3275 (1994) note: in August 1998, Ukraine introduced currency controls in an attempt to fend off the impact of the Russian financial crisis; it created an exchange rate corridor for the hryvnia of 2.5-3.5 hryvnia per US$1
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications
Telephones: 12,531,277 (1998)
Telephone system: Ukraine's phone systems are administered through the State Committee for Communications; Ukraine has a telecommunication development plan through 2005; Internet service is available in large cities domestic: local—Kiev has a digital loop connected to the national digital backbone; Kiev has several cellular phone companies providing service in the different standards; some companies offer intercity roaming and even limited international roaming; cellular phone service is offered in at least 100 cities nationwide international: foreign investment in the form of joint business ventures greatly improved the Ukrainian telephone system; Ukraine's two main fiber-optic lines are part of the Trans-Asia-Europe Fiber-Optic Line (TAE); these lines connect Ukraine to worldwide service through Belarus, Hungary, and Poland; Odesa is a landing point for the Italy-Turkey-Ukraine-Russia Undersea Fiber-Optic Cable (ITUR) giving Ukraine an additional fiber-optic link to worldwide service; Ukraine has Intelsat, Inmarsat, and Intersputnik earth stations
Radio broadcast stations: AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA; note—at least 25 local broadcast stations of NA type (1998)
Radios: 15 million (1990)
Television broadcast stations: at least 33 (in addition 21 repeater stations that relay ORT broadcasts from Russia) (1997)
Televisions: 17.3 million (1992)
Transportation
Railways: total: 23,350 km broad gauge: 23,350 km 1.524-m gauge (8,600 km electrified)
Highways: total: 172,565 km paved: 163,937 km (including 1,875 km of expressways); note—these roads are said to be hard-surfaced, meaning that some are paved and some are all-weather gravel surfaced unpaved: 8,628 km (1996 est.)
Waterways: 4,400 km navigable waterways, of which 1,672 km were on the Pryp''yat' and Dnistr (1990)
Pipelines: crude oil 4,000 km (1995); petroleum products 4,500 km (1995); natural gas 34,400 km (1998)
Ports and harbors: Berdyans'k, Illichivs'k, Izmayil, Kerch, Kherson, Kiev (Kyyiv), Mariupol', Mykolayiv, Odesa, Reni
Merchant marine: total: 181 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,022,047 GRT/1,101,278 DWT ships by type: bulk 9, cargo 117, liquefied gas tanker 1, container 4, multifunction large-load carrier 2, oil tanker 16, passenger 12, passenger-cargo 3, railcar carrier 2, refrigerated cargo 2, roll-on/roll-off cargo 10, short-sea passenger 3 (1998 est.)
Airports: 706 (1994 est.)
Airports—with paved runways: total: 163 over 3,047 m: 14 2,438 to 3,047 m: 55 1,524 to 2,437 m: 34 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 57 (1994 est.)
Airports—with unpaved runways: total: 543 over 3,047 m: 7 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 1,524 to 2,437 m: 16 914 to 1,523 m: 37 under 914 m: 476 (1994 est.)
Military
Military branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Force, Internal Troops, National Guard, Border Troops
Military manpower—military age: 18 years of age
Military manpower—availability: males age 15-49: 12,434,486 (1999 est.)
Military manpower—fit for military service: males age 15-49: 9,740,684 (1999 est.)
Military manpower—reaching military age annually: males: 365,762 (1999 est.)
Military expenditures—dollar figure: $414 million (1999)
Military expenditures—percent of GDP: 1.4% (1999)
Transnational Issues
Disputes—international: dispute with Romania over continental shelf of the Black Sea under which significant gas and oil deposits may exist; agreed in 1997 to two-year negotiating period, after which either party can refer dispute to the International Court of Justice (ICJ); has made no territorial claim in Antarctica (but has reserved the right to do so) and does not recognize the claims of any other nation
Illicit drugs: limited cultivation of cannabis and opium poppy, mostly for CIS consumption; some synthetic drug production for export to West; limited government eradication program; used as transshipment point for opiates and other illicit drugs from Africa, Latin America, and Turkey, and to Europe and Russia; drug-related money laundering a minor, but growing, problem
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@United Arab Emirates ——————————
Geography
Location: Middle East, bordering the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf, between Oman and Saudi Arabia
Geographic coordinates: 24 00 N, 54 00 E
Map references: Middle East
Area: total: 82,880 sq km land: 82,880 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area—comparative: slightly smaller than Maine
Land boundaries: total: 867 km border countries: Oman 410 km, Saudi Arabia 457 km
Coastline: 1,318 km
Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 24 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: desert; cooler in eastern mountains
Terrain: flat, barren coastal plain merging into rolling sand dunes of vast desert wasteland; mountains in east
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m highest point: Jabal Yibir 1,527 m
Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas
Land use: arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 2% forests and woodland: 0% other: 98% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 50 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: frequent sand and dust storms
Environment—current issues: lack of natural freshwater resources being overcome by desalination plants; desertification; beach pollution from oil spills
Environment—international agreements: party to: Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: Biodiversity, Law of the Sea
Geography—note: strategic location along southern approaches to Strait of Hormuz, a vital transit point for world crude oil
People
Population: 2,344,402 (July 1999 est.) note: includes 1,576,589 non-nationals (July 1999 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 31% (male 368,844; female 353,183) 15-64 years: 67% (male 1,015,690; female 558,902) 65 years and over: 2% (male 32,935; female 14,848) (1999 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.78% (1999 est.)
Birth rate: 18.86 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Death rate: 3.13 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Net migration rate: 2.03 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.82 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 2.22 male(s)/female total population: 1.53 male(s)/female (1999 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 14.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 75.24 years male: 73.83 years female: 76.72 years (1999 est.)
Total fertility rate: 3.5 children born/woman (1999 est.)
Nationality: noun: Emirian(s) adjective: Emirian
Ethnic groups: Emiri 19%, other Arab and Iranian 23%, South Asian 50%, other expatriates (includes Westerners and East Asians) 8% (1982) note: less than 20% are UAE citizens (1982)
Religions: Muslim 96% (Shi'a 16%), Christian, Hindu, and other 4%
Languages: Arabic (official), Persian, English, Hindi, Urdu
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 79.2% male: 78.9% female: 79.8% (1995 est.)
Government
Country name: conventional long form: United Arab Emirates conventional short form: none local long form: Al Imarat al Arabiyah al Muttahidah local short form: none former: Trucial States abbreviation: UAE
Data code: TC
Government type: federation with specified powers delegated to the UAE federal government and other powers reserved to member emirates
Capital: Abu Dhabi
Administrative divisions: 7 emirates (imarat, singular—imarah); Abu Zaby (Abu Dhabi), 'Ajman, Al Fujayrah, Ash Shariqah (Sharjah), Dubayy (Dubai), Ra's al Khaymah, Umm al Qaywayn
Independence: 2 December 1971 (from UK)
National holiday: National Day, 2 December (1971)
Constitution: 2 December 1971 (made permanent in 1996)
Legal system: federal court system introduced in 1971; all emirates except Dubayy (Dubai) and Ra's al Khaymah have joined the federal system; all emirates have secular and Islamic law for civil, criminal, and high courts
Suffrage: none
Executive branch: chief of state: President ZAYID bin Sultan Al Nuhayyan (since 2 December 1971), ruler of Abu Zaby (Abu Dhabi) (since 6 August 1966) and Vice President MAKTUM bin Rashid al-Maktum (since 8 October 1990), ruler of Dubayy (Dubai) head of government: Prime Minister MAKTUM bin Rashid al-Maktum (since 8 October 1990), ruler of Dubayy (Dubai); Deputy Prime Minister SULTAN bin Zayid Al Nuhayyan (since 20 November 1990) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president note: there is also a Federal Supreme Council (FSC) which is composed of the seven emirate rulers; the council is the highest constitutional authority in the UAE; establishes general policies and sanctions federal legislation, Abu Zaby (Abu Dhabi) and Dubayy (Dubai) rulers have effective veto power; meets four times a year elections: president and vice president elected by the FSC (a group of seven electors) for five-year terms; election last held NA October 1996 (next to be held NA 2001); prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the president election results: ZAYID bin Sultan Al Nuhayyan reelected president; percent of FSC vote—NA, but believed to be unanimous; MAKTUM bin Rashid al-Maktum elected vice president; percent of FSC vote—NA, but believed to be unanimous
Legislative branch: unicameral Federal National Council or Majlis al-Ittihad al-Watani (40 seats; members appointed by the rulers of the constituent states to serve two-year terms) elections: none note: reviews legislation, but cannot change or veto
Judicial branch: Union Supreme Court, judges appointed by the president
Political parties and leaders: none
Political pressure groups and leaders: NA
International organization participation: ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, GCC, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Muhammad bin Husayn al-SHAALI chancery: Suite 700, 1255 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20037
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Theodore H. KATTOUF embassy: Al-Sudan Street, Abu Dhabi mailing address: P. O. Box 4009, Abu Dhabi; American Embassy Abu Dhabi, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-6010 (pouch); note—work week is Saturday through Wednesday consulate(s) general: Dubai
Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and black with a thicker vertical red band on the hoist side
Economy
Economy—overview: The UAE has an open economy with one of the world's highest per capita incomes and with a sizable annual trade surplus. Its wealth is based on oil and gas output (about 33% of GDP), and the fortunes of the economy fluctuate with the prices of those commodities. Since 1973, the UAE has undergone a profound transformation from an impoverished region of small desert principalities to a modern state with a high standard of living. At present levels of production, oil and gas reserves should last for over 100 years. The UAE Government is encouraging increased privatization within the economy. Industrial development has picked up in 1997-98, but lower world oil prices caused GDP to drop 5% in 1998.
GDP: purchasing power parity—$40 billion (1998 est.)
GDP—real growth rate: -5% (1998 est.)
GDP—per capita: purchasing power parity?$17,400 (1998 est.)
GDP—composition by sector: agriculture: 3% industry: 52% services: 45% (1996 est.)
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5% (1997 est.)
Labor force: 1.3 million (1997 est.) note: 75% of the population in the 15-64 age group is non-national (July 1998 est.)
Labor force—by occupation: services 60%, industry 32%, agriculture 8% (1996 est.)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues: $5.4 billion expenditures: $5.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $350 million (1998 budget est.)
Industries: petroleum, fishing, petrochemicals, construction materials, some boat building, handicrafts, pearling
Industrial production growth rate: 0% (1997 est.)
Electricity—production: 18 billion kWh (1996)
Electricity—production by source: fossil fuel: 100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1996)
Electricity—consumption: 18 billion kWh (1996)
Electricity—exports: 0 kWh (1996)
Electricity—imports: 0 kWh (1996)
Agriculture—products: dates, vegetables, watermelons; poultry, eggs, dairy products; fish
Exports: $38 billion (f.o.b., 1997 est.)
Exports—commodities: crude oil 45%, natural gas, reexports, dried fish, dates
Exports—partners: Japan 36%, South Korea 9%, Singapore 5%, India 5%, Oman 3% (1997)
Imports: $29.7 billion (f.o.b., 1997 est.)
Imports—commodities: manufactured goods, machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, food
Imports—partners: US 9%, Japan 9%, UK 9%, Germany 6%, India 6% (1997)
Debt—external: $14 billion (1996 est.)
Economic aid—recipient: $NA
Currency: 1 Emirian dirham (Dh) = 100 fils
Exchange rates: Emirian dirhams (Dh) per US$1—central bank mid-point rate: 3.6725 (January 1999), 3.6725 (1998); fixed rate: 3.6710 (1994-1997)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications
Telephones: 677,793 (1993 est.)
Telephone system: modern system consisting of microwave radio relay and coaxial cable; key centers are Abu Dhabi and Dubai domestic: microwave radio relay and coaxial cable international: satellite earth stations—3 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean) and 1 Arabsat; submarine cables to Qatar, Bahrain, India, and Pakistan; tropospheric scatter to Bahrain; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia
Radio broadcast stations: AM 8, FM 3, shortwave 0
Radios: 545,000 (1992 est.)
Television broadcast stations: 15 (1997)
Televisions: 170,000 (1993 est.)
Transportation
Railways: 0 km
Highways: total: 4,835 km paved: 4,835 km unpaved: 0 km (1996 est.)
Pipelines: crude oil 830 km; natural gas, including natural gas liquids, 870 km
Ports and harbors: 'Ajman, Al Fujayrah, Das Island, Khawr Fakkan, Mina' Jabal 'Ali, Mina' Khalid, Mina' Rashid, Mina' Saqr, Mina' Zayid, Umm al Qaywayn
Merchant marine: total: 74 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,093,795 GRT/1,757,189 DWT ships by type: bulk 4, cargo 20, chemical tanker 4, container 8, liquefied gas tanker 1, livestock carrier 1, oil tanker 28, refrigerated cargo 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 7 (1998 est.)
Airports: 41 (1998 est.)
Airports—with paved runways: total: 21 over 3,047 m: 8 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 4 (1998 est.)
Airports—with unpaved runways: total: 20 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 5 (1998 est.)
Heliports: 2 (1998 est.)
Military
Military branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Air Defense, paramilitary (includes Federal Police Force)
Military manpower—military age: 18 years of age
Military manpower—availability: males age 15-49: 791,097 (1999 est.) note: includes non-nationals
Military manpower—fit for military service: males age 15-49: 425,248 (1999 est.)
Military manpower—reaching military age annually: males: 23,358 (1999 est.)
Military expenditures—dollar figure: $2.118 billion (1999)
Military expenditures—percent of GDP: 5% (1999)
Transnational Issues
Disputes—international: location and status of boundary with Saudi Arabia is not final, de facto boundary reflects 1974 agreement; no defined boundary with most of Oman, but Administrative Line in far north; claims two islands in the Persian Gulf occupied by Iran: Lesser Tunb (called Tunb as Sughra in Arabic by UAE and Jazireh-ye Tonb-e Kuchek in Persian by Iran) and Greater Tunb (called Tunb al Kubra in Arabic by UAE and Jazireh-ye Tonb-e Bozorg in Persian by Iran); claims island in the Persian Gulf jointly administered with Iran (called Abu Musa in Arabic by UAE and Jazireh-ye Abu Musa in Persian by Iran)—over which Iran has taken steps to exert unilateral control since 1992, including access restrictions and a military build-up on the island; the UAE has garnered significant diplomatic support in the region in protesting these Iranian actions
Illicit drugs: growing role as heroin transshipment and money-laundering center due to its proximity to southwest Asian producing countries and the bustling free trade zone in Dubai
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@United Kingdom ———————
Introduction
Background: Britain, the dominant industrial and maritime power of the nineteenth century, played a leading role in developing parliamentary democracy and in advancing literature and science. The British Empire covered approximately one-fourth of the earth's surface at its zenith. In the first half of the twentieth century its strength was seriously depleted by two world wars. Since the end of World War II, the British Empire has been dismantled, and Britain has rebuilt itself into a prosperous, modern European nation with significant international political, cultural, and economic influence. As the twentieth century draws to a close, Britain is debating the degree of its integration with continental Europe. While a member of the EU, for the time being it is staying out of the euro system introduced in January 1999. Constitutional reform, including the House of Lords and the devolution of power to Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, is an ongoing issue in Great Britain.
Geography
Location: Western Europe, islands including the northern one-sixth of the island of Ireland between the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea, northwest of France
Geographic coordinates: 54 00 N, 2 00 W
Map references: Europe
Area: total: 244,820 sq km land: 241,590 sq km water: 3,230 sq km note: includes Rockall and Shetland Islands
Area—comparative: slightly smaller than Oregon
Land boundaries: total: 360 km border countries: Ireland 360 km
Coastline: 12,429 km
Maritime claims: continental shelf: as defined in continental shelf orders or in accordance with agreed upon boundaries exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: temperate; moderated by prevailing southwest winds over the North Atlantic Current; more than one-half of the days are overcast
Terrain: mostly rugged hills and low mountains; level to rolling plains in east and southeast
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Fenland -4 m highest point: Ben Nevis 1,343 m
Natural resources: coal, petroleum, natural gas, tin, limestone, iron ore, salt, clay, chalk, gypsum, lead, silica
Land use: arable land: 25% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 46% forests and woodland: 10% other: 19% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 1,080 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: NA
Environment—current issues: sulfur dioxide emissions from power plants contribute to air pollution; some rivers polluted by agricultural wastes; and coastal waters polluted because of large-scale disposal of sewage at sea
Environment—international agreements: party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol
Geography—note: lies near vital North Atlantic sea lanes; only 35 km from France and now linked by tunnel under the English Channel; because of heavily indented coastline, no location is more than 125 km from tidal waters
People
Population: 59,113,439 (July 1999 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 19% (male 5,822,901; female 5,522,122) 15-64 years: 65% (male 19,393,706; female 19,103,882) 65 years and over: 16% (male 3,821,181; female 5,449,647) (1999 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.24% (1999 est.)
Birth rate: 11.9 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Death rate: 10.64 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Net migration rate: 1.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (1999 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 5.78 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 77.37 years male: 74.73 years female: 80.15 years (1999 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.71 children born/woman (1999 est.)
Nationality: noun: Briton(s), British (collective plural) adjective: British
Ethnic groups: English 81.5%, Scottish 9.6%, Irish 2.4%, Welsh 1.9%, Ulster 1.8%, West Indian, Indian, Pakistani, and other 2.8%
Religions: Anglican 27 million, Roman Catholic 9 million, Muslim 1 million, Presbyterian 800,000, Methodist 760,000, Sikh 400,000, Hindu 350,000, Jewish 300,000 (1991 est.)
Languages: English, Welsh (about 26% of the population of Wales), Scottish form of Gaelic (about 60,000 in Scotland)
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over has completed five or more years of schooling total population: 99% (1978 est.) male: NA% female: NA%
Government
Country name: conventional long form: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland conventional short form: United Kingdom abbreviation: UK
Data code: UK
Government type: constitutional monarchy
Capital: London
Administrative divisions: 47 counties, 7 metropolitan counties, 26 districts, 9 regions, and 3 islands areas; England—39 counties, 7 metropolitan counties*; Avon, Bedford, Berkshire, Buckingham, Cambridge, Cheshire, Cleveland, Cornwall, Cumbria, Derby, Devon, Dorset, Durham, East Sussex, Essex, Gloucester, Greater London*, Greater Manchester*, Hampshire, Hereford and Worcester, Hertford, Humberside, Isle of Wight, Kent, Lancashire, Leicester, Lincoln, Merseyside*, Norfolk, Northampton, Northumberland, North Yorkshire, Nottingham, Oxford, Shropshire, Somerset, South Yorkshire*, Stafford, Suffolk, Surrey, Tyne and Wear*, Warwick, West Midlands*, West Sussex, West Yorkshire*, Wiltshire; Northern Ireland—26 districts; Antrim, Ards, Armagh, Ballymena, Ballymoney, Banbridge, Belfast, Carrickfergus, Castlereagh, Coleraine, Cookstown, Craigavon, Down, Dungannon, Fermanagh, Larne, Limavady, Lisburn, Londonderry, Magherafelt, Moyle, Newry and Mourne, Newtownabbey, North Down, Omagh, Strabane; Scotland—9 regions, 3 islands areas*; Borders, Central, Dumfries and Galloway, Fife, Grampian, Highland, Lothian, Orkney*, Shetland*, Strathclyde, Tayside, Western Isles*; Wales—8 counties; Clwyd, Dyfed, Gwent, Gwynedd, Mid Glamorgan, Powys, South Glamorgan, West Glamorgan note: England may now have 35 counties and Wales 9 counties
Dependent areas: Anguilla, Bermuda, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Guernsey, Jersey, Isle of Man, Montserrat, Pitcairn Islands, Saint Helena, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands
Independence: England has existed as a unified entity since the 10th century; the union between England and Wales was enacted under the Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284; in the Act of Union of 1707, England and Scotland agreed to permanent union as Great Britain; the legislative union of Great Britain and Ireland was implemented in 1801, with the adoption of the name the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland; the Anglo-Irish treaty of 1921 formalized a partition of Ireland; six northern Irish counties remained part of the United Kingdom as Northern Ireland and the current name of the country, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, was adopted in 1927
National holiday: Celebration of the Birthday of the Queen (second Saturday in June)
Constitution: unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice
Legal system: common law tradition with early Roman and modern continental influences; no judicial review of Acts of Parliament; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations; British courts and legislation are increasingly subject to review by European Union courts
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); Heir Apparent Prince CHARLES (son of the queen, born 14 November 1948) head of government: Prime Minister Anthony C. L. (Tony) BLAIR (since 2 May 1997) cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; the prime minister is the leader of the majority party in the House of Commons (assuming there is no majority party, a prime minister would have a majority coalition or at least a coalition that was not rejected by the majority)
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament consists of House of Lords (1,200 seats; four-fifths of the members are hereditary peers, two archbishops, 24 other senior bishops, serving and retired Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, other life peers, Scottish peers) and House of Commons (659 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms unless the House is dissolved earlier) elections: House of Lords—no elections; House of Commons—last held 1 May 1997 (next to be held by NA May 2002); note—in 1998 elections were held for a Northern Ireland Parliament; in 1999 there will be elections for a new Scottish parliament and a new Welsh Assembly election results: House of Commons—percent of vote by party—Labor 44.5%, Conservative 31%, Liberal Democratic 17%, other 7.5%; seats by party—Labor 418, Conservative 165, Liberal Democrat 46, other 30
Judicial branch: House of Lords, several Lords of Appeal in Ordinary are appointed by the monarch for life
Political parties and leaders: Conservative and Unionist Party
Political pressure groups and leaders: Trades Union Congress; Confederation of British Industry; National Farmers' Union; Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
International organization participation: AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, C, CCC, CDB (non-regional), CE, CERN, CP, EAPC, EBRD, ECA (associate), ECE, ECLAC, EIB, ESA, ESCAP, EU, FAO, G- 5, G- 7, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MTCR, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UN Security Council, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNOMIG, UNOMSIL, UNRWA, UNU, UPU, WCL, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Sir Christopher J. R. MEYER chancery: 3100 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco consulate(s): Dallas, Miami, and Seattle
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Philip LADER embassy: 24/31 Grosvenor Square, London, W. 1A1AE mailing address: PSC 801, Box 40, FPO AE 09498-4040 consulate(s) general: Belfast, Edinburgh
Flag description: blue with the red cross of Saint George (patron saint of England) edged in white superimposed on the diagonal red cross of Saint Patrick (patron saint of Ireland) which is superimposed on the diagonal white cross of Saint Andrew (patron saint of Scotland); known as the Union Flag or Union Jack; the design and colors (especially the Blue Ensign) have been the basis for a number of other flags including other Commonwealth countries and their constituent states or provinces, as well as British overseas territories
Economy
Economy—overview: The UK is one of the world's great trading powers and financial centers, and its essentially capitalistic economy ranks among the four largest in Western Europe. Over the past two decades the government has greatly reduced public ownership and contained the growth of social welfare programs. Agriculture is intensive, highly mechanized, and efficient by European standards, producing about 60% of food needs with only 1% of the labor force. The UK has large coal, natural gas, and oil reserves; primary energy production accounts for 10% of GDP, one of the highest shares of any industrial nation. Services, particularly banking, insurance, and business services, account by far for the largest proportion of GDP while industry continues to decline in importance, now employing only 18% of the work force. Economic growth is slowing, and Britain may experience a short recession in 1999. As a result, unemployment probably will begin to rise again. The BLAIR government has put off the question of participation in the euro system until after the next election, not expected until 2001, but Chancellor of the Exchequer BROWN is committed to preparing the British economy for eventual membership.
GDP: purchasing power parity—$1.252 trillion (1998 est.)
GDP—real growth rate: 2.6% (1998 est.)
GDP—per capita: purchasing power parity?$21,200 (1998 est.)
GDP—composition by sector: agriculture: 1.5% industry: 31.5% services: 67% (1997)
Population below poverty line: 17%
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 2.4% highest 10%: 24.7% (1986)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.7% (1998)
Labor force: 28.8 million (1998)
Labor force—by occupation: services 68.9%, manufacturing and construction 17.5%, government 11.3%, energy 1.2%, agriculture 1.1% (1996)
Unemployment rate: 7.5% (1998 est.)
Budget: revenues: $487.7 billion expenditures: $492.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $23.1 billion (1997 est.)
Industries: production machinery including machine tools, electric power equipment, automation equipment, railroad equipment, shipbuilding, aircraft, motor vehicles and parts, electronics and communications equipment, metals, chemicals, coal, petroleum, paper and paper products, food processing, textiles, clothing, and other consumer goods
Industrial production growth rate: 0.5% (1998 est.)
Electricity—production: 309.672 billion kWh (1996)
Electricity—production by source: fossil fuel: 72.28% hydro: 1.28% nuclear: 26.33% other: 0.11% (1996)
Electricity—consumption: 326.322 billion kWh (1996)
Electricity—exports: 0 kWh (1996)
Electricity—imports: 16.65 billion kWh (1996)
Agriculture—products: cereals, oilseed, potatoes, vegetables; cattle, sheep, poultry; fish
Exports: $271 billion (f.o.b., 1998)
Exports—commodities: manufactured goods, fuels, chemicals; food, beverages, tobacco
Exports—partners: EU countries 56% (Germany 12%, France 10%, Netherlands 8%), US 12% (1997)
Imports: $304 billion (f.o.b., 1998)
Imports—commodities: manufactured goods, machinery, fuels, foodstuffs
Imports—partners: EU countries 53% (Germany 14%, France 10%, Netherlands 7%, Ireland 5%), US 13% (1997)
Debt—external: $NA
Economic aid—donor: ODA, $3.4 billion (1996)
Currency: 1 British pound (L) = 100 pence
Exchange rates: British pounds (L) per US$1—0.6057 (January 1999), 0.6037 (1998), 0.6106 (1997), 0.6403 (1996), 0.6335 (1995), 0.6529 (1994)
Fiscal year: 1 April—31 March
Communications
Telephones: 29.5 million (1987 est.)
Telephone system: technologically advanced domestic and international system domestic: equal mix of buried cables, microwave radio relay, and fiber-optic systems international: 40 coaxial submarine cables; satellite earth stations—10 Intelsat (7 Atlantic Ocean and 3 Indian Ocean), 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean region), and 1 Eutelsat; at least 8 large international switching centers
Radio broadcast stations: AM 225, FM 525 (mostly repeaters), shortwave 0
Radios: 70 million
Television broadcast stations: 78 (in addition, there are 869 repeaters) (1997)
Televisions: 20 million
Transportation
Railways: total: 16,878 km broad gauge: 342 km 1.600-m gauge (190 km double track); note—all 1.600-m gauge track, of which 342 km is in common carrier use, is in Northern Ireland standard gauge: 16,536 km 1.435-m gauge (4,928 km electrified; 12,591 km double or multiple track) (1996)
Highways: total: 372,000 km paved: 372,000 km (including 3,270 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (1996 est.)
Waterways: 3,200 km
Pipelines: crude oil (almost all insignificant) 933 km; petroleum products 2,993 km; natural gas 12,800 km
Ports and harbors: Aberdeen, Belfast, Bristol, Cardiff, Dover, Falmouth, Felixstowe, Glasgow, Grangemouth, Hull, Leith, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Peterhead, Plymouth, Scapa Flow, Sullom Voe, Tees, Tyne
Merchant marine: total: 155 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,460,361 GRT/2,517,875 DWT ships by type: bulk 3, cargo 29, chemical tanker 6, combination ore/oil 1, container 25, liquefied gas tanker 1, oil tanker 51, passenger 8, passenger-cargo 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 17, short-sea passenger 12, specialized tanker 1 (1998 est.)
Airports: 497 (1998 est.)
Airports—with paved runways: total: 356 over 3,047 m: 10 2,438 to 3,047 m: 32 1,524 to 2,437 m: 169 914 to 1,523 m: 91 under 914 m: 54 (1998 est.)
Airports—with unpaved runways: total: 141 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 23 under 914 m: 117 (1998 est.)
Heliports: 12 (1998 est.)
Military
Military branches: Army, Royal Navy (includes Royal Marines), Royal Air Force
Military manpower—availability: males age 15-49: 14,458,646 (1999 est.)
Military manpower—fit for military service: males age 15-49: 12,053,320 (1999 est.)
Military expenditures—dollar figure: $36.7 billion (FY98/99)
Military expenditures—percent of GDP: 2.6% (FY98/99)
Transnational Issues
Disputes—international: Northern Ireland issue with Ireland (historic peace agreement signed 10 April 1998); Gibraltar issue with Spain; Argentina claims Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas); Argentina claims South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands; Mauritius claims island of Diego Garcia in British Indian Ocean Territory; Rockall continental shelf dispute involving Denmark, Iceland, and Ireland (Ireland and the UK have signed a boundary agreement in the Rockall area); territorial claim in Antarctica (British Antarctic Territory); Seychelles claims Chagos Archipelago in British Indian Ocean Territory
Illicit drugs: gateway country for Latin American cocaine entering the European market; producer and major consumer of synthetic drugs, synthetic precursor chemicals; transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin; money-laundering center
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@United States ——————-
Introduction
Background: Buoyed by victories in World Wars I and II and the end of the Cold War in 1991, the US remains the world's most powerful nation-state. The economy is marked by steady growth, low unemployment, low inflation, and rapid advances in technology. The biggest cloud over this affluent society is the distribution of gains—since 1975 most of the increase in national income has gone to the 20% of people at the top of the income ladder.
Geography
Location: North America, bordering both the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Pacific Ocean, between Canada and Mexico
Geographic coordinates: 38 00 N, 97 00 W
Map references: North America
Area: total: 9,629,091 sq km land: 9,158,960 sq km water: 470,131 sq km note: includes only the 50 states and District of Columbia
Area—comparative: about one-half the size of Russia; about three-tenths the size of Africa; about one-half the size of South America (or slightly larger than Brazil); slightly larger than China; about two and one-half times the size of Western Europe
Land boundaries: total: 12,248 km border countries: Canada 8,893 km (including 2,477 km with Alaska), Cuba 29 km (US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay), Mexico 3,326 km note: Guantanamo Naval Base is leased by the US and thus remains part of Cuba
Coastline: 19,924 km
Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 12 nm continental shelf: not specified exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: mostly temperate, but tropical in Hawaii and Florida, arctic in Alaska, semiarid in the great plains west of the Mississippi River, and arid in the Great Basin of the southwest; low winter temperatures in the northwest are ameliorated occasionally in January and February by warm chinook winds from the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains
Terrain: vast central plain, mountains in west, hills and low mountains in east; rugged mountains and broad river valleys in Alaska; rugged, volcanic topography in Hawaii
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Death Valley -86 m highest point: Mount McKinley 6,194 m
Natural resources: coal, copper, lead, molybdenum, phosphates, uranium, bauxite, gold, iron, mercury, nickel, potash, silver, tungsten, zinc, petroleum, natural gas, timber
Land use: arable land: 19% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 25% forests and woodland: 30% other: 26% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 207,000 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: tsunamis, volcanoes, and earthquake activity around Pacific Basin; hurricanes along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts; tornadoes in the midwest and southeast; mud slides in California; forest fires in the west; flooding; permafrost in northern Alaska, a major impediment to development
Environment—current issues: air pollution resulting in acid rain in both the US and Canada; the US is the largest single emitter of carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels; water pollution from runoff of pesticides and fertilizers; very limited natural fresh water resources in much of the western part of the country require careful management; desertification
Environment—international agreements: party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Biodiversity, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes
Geography—note: world's third-largest country (after Russia and Canada)
People
Population: 272,639,608 (July 1999 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 22% (male 30,097,125; female 28,699,568) 15-64 years: 66% (male 89,024,052; female 90,379,328) 65 years and over: 12% (male 14,189,132; female 20,250,403) (1999 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.85% (1999 est.)
Birth rate: 14.3 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Death rate: 8.8 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Net migration rate: 3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (1999 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 6.33 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 76.23 years male: 72.95 years female: 79.67 years (1999 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.07 children born/woman (1999 est.)
Nationality: noun: American(s) adjective: American
Ethnic groups: white 83.5%, black 12.4%, Asian 3.3%, Amerindian 0.8% (1992)
Religions: Protestant 56%, Roman Catholic 28%, Jewish 2%, other 4%, none 10% (1989)
Languages: English, Spanish (spoken by a sizable minority)
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 97% male: 97% female: 97% (1979 est.)
Government
Country name: conventional long form: United States of America conventional short form: United States abbreviation: US or USA
Data code: US
Government type: federal republic; strong democratic tradition
Capital: Washington, DC
Administrative divisions: 50 states and 1 district*; Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia*, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming
Dependent areas: American Samoa, Baker Island, Guam, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Midway Islands, Navassa Island, Northern Mariana Islands, Palmyra Atoll, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Wake Atoll note: from 18 July 1947 until 1 October 1994, the US administered the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, but recently entered into a new political relationship with all four political units: the Northern Mariana Islands is a commonwealth in political union with the US (effective 3 November 1986); Palau concluded a Compact of Free Association with the US (effective 1 October 1994); the Federated States of Micronesia signed a Compact of Free Association with the US (effective 3 November 1986); the Republic of the Marshall Islands signed a Compact of Free Association with the US (effective 21 October 1986)
Independence: 4 July 1776 (from England)
National holiday: Independence Day, 4 July (1776)
Constitution: 17 September 1787, effective 4 March 1789
Legal system: based on English common law; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President William Jefferson CLINTON (since 20 January 1993) and Vice President Albert GORE, Jr. (since 20 January 1993); note—the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President William Jefferson CLINTON (since 20 January 1993) and Vice President Albert GORE, Jr. (since 20 January 1993); note—the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president with Senate approval elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by a college of representatives who are elected directly from each state; president and vice president serve four-year terms; election last held 5 November 1996 (next to be held 7 November 2000) election results: William Jefferson CLINTON reelected president; percent of popular vote—William Jefferson CLINTON (Democratic Party) 49.2%, Robert DOLE (Republican Party) 40.7%, Ross PEROT (Reform Party) 8.4%, other 1.7%
Legislative branch: bicameral Congress consists of Senate (100 seats, one-third are renewed every two years; two members are elected from each state by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and House of Representatives (435 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms) elections: Senate—last held 2 November 1998 (next to be held 7 November 2000); House of Representatives—last held 2 November 1998 (next to be held 7 November 2000) election results: Senate—percent of vote by party—NA; seats by party—Republican Party 55, Democratic Party 45; House of Representatives—percent of vote by party—NA; seats by party—Republican Party 223, Democratic Party 211, independent 1
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (the nine justices are appointed for life by the president with confirmation by the Senate)
Political parties and leaders: Republican Party [Jim NICHOLSON, national committee chairman]; several other groups or parties of minor political significance
International organization participation: AfDB, ANZUS, APEC, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CE (observer), CERN (observer), CP, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECLAC, ESCAP, FAO, G-5, G-7, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MIPONUH, MTCR, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS, OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, SPC, UN, UN Security Council, UNCTAD, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNOMIG, UNPREDEP, UNRWA, UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, ZC
Flag description: thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white; there is a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing 50 small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars (top and bottom) alternating with rows of five stars; the 50 stars represent the 50 states, the 13 stripes represent the 13 original colonies; known as Old Glory; the design and colors have been the basis for a number of other flags, including Chile, Liberia, Malaysia, and Puerto Rico
Economy
Economy—overview: The US has the most powerful, diverse, and technologically advanced economy in the world, with a per capita GDP of $31,500, the largest among major industrial nations. In this market-oriented economy, private individuals and business firms make most of the decisions, and government buys needed goods and services predominantly in the private marketplace. US business firms enjoy considerably greater flexibility than their counterparts in Western Europe and Japan in decisions to expand capital plant, lay off surplus workers, and develop new products. At the same time, they face higher barriers to entry in their rivals' home markets than the barriers to entry of foreign firms in US markets. US firms are at or near the forefront in technological advances, especially in computers and in medical, aerospace, and military equipment, although their advantage has narrowed since the end of World War II. The onrush of technology largely explains the gradual development of a "two-tier labor market" in which those at the bottom lack the education and the professional/technical skills of those at the top and, more and more, fail to get pay raises, health insurance coverage, and other benefits. Since 1975, practically all the gains in household income have gone to the top 20% of households. The years 1994-98 witnessed solid increases in real output, low inflation rates, and a drop in unemployment to below 5%. Long-term problems include inadequate investment in economic infrastructure, rapidly rising medical costs of an aging population, sizable trade deficits, and stagnation of family income in the lower economic groups. The outlook for 1999 is for GDP growth somewhat below 1998's, continued low inflation, and about the same level of unemployment. Two shadows for 1999 are the severe financial crises in East Asia and Russia and the exuberant level of stock prices in relation to corporate earnings.
GDP: purchasing power parity—$8.511 trillion (1998 est.)
GDP—real growth rate: 3.9% (1998 est.)
GDP—per capita: purchasing power parity?$31,500 (1998 est.)
GDP—composition by sector: agriculture: 2% industry: 23% services: 75% (1998 est.)
Population below poverty line: 13% (1997 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 1.5% highest 10%: 28.5% (1994)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.6% (1998)
Labor force: 137.7 million (includes unemployed) (1998)
Labor force—by occupation: managerial and professional 29.6%, technical, sales and administrative support 29.3%, services 13.6%, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and crafts 24.8%, farming, forestry, and fishing 2.7% (1998) note: figures exclude the unemployed
Unemployment rate: 4.5% (1998)
Budget: revenues: $1.722 trillion expenditures: $1.653 trillion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998)
Industries: leading industrial power in the world, highly diversified and technologically advanced; petroleum, steel, motor vehicles, aerospace, telecommunications, chemicals, electronics, food processing, consumer goods, lumber, mining
Industrial production growth rate: 3.6% (1998)
Electricity—production: 3.629 trillion kWh (1996)
Electricity—production by source: fossil fuel: 65.1% hydro: 9.6% nuclear: 18.59% other: 6.71% (1996)
Electricity—consumption: 3.666 trillion kWh (1996)
Electricity—exports: 9.02 billion kWh (1996)
Electricity—imports: 46.543 billion kWh (1996)
Agriculture—products: wheat, other grains, corn, fruits, vegetables, cotton; beef, pork, poultry, dairy products; forest products; fish
Exports: $663 billion (f.o.b., 1998 est.)
Exports—commodities: capital goods, automobiles, industrial supplies and raw materials, consumer goods, agricultural products
Exports—partners: Canada 22%, Western Europe 21%, Japan 10%, Mexico 10% (1997)
Imports: $912 billion (c.i.f., 1998 est.)
Imports—commodities: crude oil and refined petroleum products, machinery, automobiles, consumer goods, industrial raw materials, food and beverages
Imports—partners: Canada, 19%, Western Europe 18%, Japan 14%, Mexico 10%, China 7% (1997)
Debt—external: $862 billion (1995 est.)
Economic aid—donor: ODA, $7.4 billion (1995)
Currency: 1 United States dollar (US$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: British pounds (L) per US$—0.6057 (January 1999), 0.6037 (1998), 0.6106 (1997), 0.6403 (1996), 0.6335 (1995), 0.6529 (1994); Canadian dollars (Can$) per US$—1.5192 (January 1999), 1.4835 (1998), 1.3846 (1997), 1.3635 (1996), 1.3724 (1995), 1.3656 (1994); French francs (F) per US$—5.65 (January 1999), 5.8995 (1998), 5.8367 (1997), 5.1155 (1996), 4.9915 (1995), 5.5520 (1994); Italian lire (Lit) per US$—1,668.7 (January 1999), 1,763.2 (1998), 1,703.1 (1997), 1,542.9 (1996), 1,628.9 (1995), 1,612.4 (1994); Japanese yen (Y) per US$—113.18 (January 1999), 130.91 (1998), 120.99 (1997), 108.78 (1996), 94.06 (1995), 102.21 (1994); German deutsche marks (DM) per US$—1.69 (January 1999), 1.9692 (1998), 1.7341 (1997), 1.5048 (1996), 1.4331 (1995), 1.6228 (1994); Euro per US$—0.8597 (January 1999)
Fiscal year: 1 October—30 September
Communications
Telephones: 182.558 million (1987 est.)
Telephone system: domestic: a large system of fiber-optic cable, microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, and domestic satellites carries conventional telephone traffic; a rapidly growing cellular system carries mobile telephone traffic throughout country international: 24 ocean cable systems in use; satellite earth stations—61 Intelsat (45 Atlantic Ocean and 16 Pacific Ocean), 5 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region), and 4 Inmarsat (Pacific and Atlantic Ocean regions) (1990 est.)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 4,987, FM 4,932, shortwave 0
Radios: 540.5 million (1992 est.)
Television broadcast stations: more than 1,500 (including nearly 1,000 stations affiliated with the five major networks—NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX, and PBS; in addition, there are about 9,000 cable TV systems) (1997)
Televisions: 215 million (1993 est.)
Transportation
Railways: total: 240,000 km mainline routes (nongovernment owned) standard gauge: 240,000 km 1.435-m gauge (1989)
Highways: total: 6.42 million km paved: 3,903,360 km (including 88,400 km of expressways) unpaved: 2,516,640 km (1996 est.)
Waterways: 41,009 km of navigable inland channels, exclusive of the Great Lakes
Pipelines: petroleum products 276,000 km; natural gas 331,000 km (1991)
Ports and harbors: Anchorage, Baltimore, Boston, Charleston, Chicago, Duluth, Hampton Roads, Honolulu, Houston, Jacksonville, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, Port Canaveral, Portland (Oregon), Prudhoe Bay, San Francisco, Savannah, Seattle, Tampa, Toledo
Merchant marine: total: 385 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 11,123,848 GRT/15,255,996 DWT ships by type: barge carrier 10, bulk 61, cargo 28, chemical tanker 13, combination bulk 2, container 83, liquefied gas tanker 9, multifunctional large-load carrier 3, oil tanker 114, passenger 7, passenger-cargo 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 43, short-sea passenger 3, specialized tanker 1, vehicle carrier 7 (1998 est.)
Airports: 14,459 (1998 est.)
Airports—with paved runways: total: 5,167 over 3,047 m: 180 2,438 to 3,047 m: 219 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1,294 914 to 1,523 m: 2,447 under 914 m: 1,027 (1998 est.)
Airports—with unpaved runways: total: 9,292 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 156 914 to 1,523 m: 1,647 under 914 m: 7,482 (1998 est.)
Heliports: 122 (1998 est.)
Military
Military branches: Department of the Army, Department of the Navy (includes Marine Corps), Department of the Air Force note: the Coast Guard falls under the Department of Transportation, but in wartime reports to the Department of the Navy
Military manpower—military age: 18 years of age
Military manpower—fit for military service: males age 15-49: NA
Military expenditures—dollar figure: $267.2 billion (1997 est.)
Military expenditures—percent of GDP: 3.4% (1997 est.)
Transnational Issues
Disputes—international: maritime boundary disputes with Canada (Dixon Entrance, Beaufort Sea, Strait of Juan de Fuca, Machias Seal Island); US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay is leased from Cuba and only mutual agreement or US abandonment of the area can terminate the lease; Haiti claims Navassa Island; US has made no territorial claim in Antarctica (but has reserved the right to do so) and does not recognize the claims of any other nation; Marshall Islands claims Wake Atoll
Illicit drugs: consumer of cocaine shipped from Colombia through Mexico and the Caribbean; consumer of heroin, marijuana, and increasingly methamphetamines from Mexico; consumer of high-quality Southeast Asian heroin; illicit producer of cannabis, marijuana, depressants, stimulants, hallucinogens, and methamphetamines; drug-money-laundering center
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@Uruguay ———-
Geography
Location: Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Argentina and Brazil
Geographic coordinates: 33 00 S, 56 00 W
Map references: South America
Area: total: 176,220 sq km land: 173,620 sq km water: 2,600 sq km
Area—comparative: slightly smaller than the state of Washington
Land boundaries: total: 1,564 km border countries: Argentina 579 km, Brazil 985 km
Coastline: 660 km
Maritime claims: continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation territorial sea: 200 nm; overflight and navigation guaranteed beyond 12 nm
Climate: warm temperate; freezing temperatures almost unknown
Terrain: mostly rolling plains and low hills; fertile coastal lowland
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Cerro Catedral 514 m
Natural resources: fertile soil, hydropower, minor minerals, fisheries
Land use: arable land: 7% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 77% forests and woodland: 6% other: 10% (1997 est.)
Irrigated land: 7,700 sq km (1997 est.)
Natural hazards: seasonally high winds (the pampero is a chilly and occasional violent wind which blows north from the Argentine pampas), droughts, floods; because of the absence of mountains, which act as weather barriers, all locations are particularly vulnerable to rapid changes in weather fronts
Environment—current issues: working with Brazil to monitor and minimize transboundary pollution caused by Brazilian power plant near border; water pollution from meat packing/tannery industry; inadequate solid/hazardous waste disposal
Environment—international agreements: party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation
People
Population: 3,308,523 (July 1999 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 24% (male 407,990; female 388,293) 15-64 years: 63% (male 1,026,554; female 1,054,513) 65 years and over: 13% (male 179,331; female 251,842) (1999 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.73% (1999 est.)
Birth rate: 16.84 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Death rate: 8.81 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Net migration rate: -0.78 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.) |
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